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Coastal Carolina Cheerleaders Suspended Amid Prostitution Ring Probe [Report]

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 13:49 PST, Apr 1, 2017

A Coastal Carolina cheerleaders probe is underway, according to multiple sources. Reportedly, the Coastal Carolina University (CCU) cheerleading team has been placed on suspension pending the results of a prostitution investigation, among other scandalous behavior allegations.

All Coastal Carolina cheerleaders learned they were suspended on Wednesday. According to reporting from The Big Lead via MSN Sports, a college investigator appeared at a scheduled cheerleading practice and informed the team of the disciplinary decision.

Sources say officials decided to suspend the team when they received a letter from an unnamed complainant that accused CCU cheerleaders of taking part in a prostitution scandal and other potential university violations not specified at this time.

TBL news outlet said an unidentified cheerleader, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said the investigator laid out the charges against them: prostitution, illegal payments to others to complete various homework assignments, and the purchase of alcoholic beverages for underage members of the Coastal Carolina cheerleading squad.

“According to the cheerleader, the team was met by police outside the HTC Center after practice, who called the names of individual team members and took them to CCU’s police station for questioning. During the questioning, the cheerleader said police searched through their cell phones. She said officers then told them they could leave around 11 p.m., after telling them they did nothing wrong.”

Some CCU students and readers thought the report of cheerleaders being suspended was part of an April Fools’ Day prank. However, according to multiple sources, the school’s decision to suspend the team is credible, despite the absence of a formal report.

Furthermore, as of this writing, there is no mention of the cheerleading squad on the official Coastal Carolina Athletics website. Reports suggest the category was scrubbed after the suspensions. CCU Vice President of Communications William M. Plate Jr. did not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation when pressed by local reporters.

However, another unnamed source on the team said no cheerleaders would participate in an upcoming national competition in Florida. Reportedly, an official with the event said the CCU group has paid its admission fees in full. Furthermore, there is no indication that CCU cheerleaders will forfeit the competition at this time.

Allegedly, several family members and suspended cheerleaders took to Twitter to vent about the school’s abrupt decision to sanction the team.

“@wmbfnews less than a week away from competition and Coastal is stopping the girls from going with no valid reason.”

One cheerleader’s uncle went on record about the troubling incident. William Walker said his niece, ostensibly a Coastal Carolina cheerleader, called him while she was being questioned by campus police officers. She reportedly sounded confused and distressed about notice of the suspensions, Walker explained.

“Well she was at campus police station last night, 9:30-10:00, calling me just really, really mad. She was more mad than upset that they had been ripped from practice, and told that they could no longer compete and were not going on to their nationals thing, and were taking them to the police station.”

Reporters with WMBF News tried contacting several officials at the school for comment on the developing story. Martha Hunn, associate vice president of communications, CCU’s Department of Public Safety, and Matt Hogue, the school’s athletic director, were queried, but have not offered comments about cheerleaders being suspended over prostitution allegations.

At this time, there have not been any arrests or names revealed of those supposedly disciplined over the anonymous complaint. Oddly, Horry County Police denied having an open investigation at this time.

Reporters sought clarity about the prevailing reports using the school’s Freedom of Information Act (or FOIA). A letter from the CCU president’s office denied the request, only stating that it could not offer specifics about an ongoing investigation.

The Inquisitr cannot independently confirm the allegations.

[Featured image by sportpoint/shutterstock]

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